SNOW!

I travelled again this weekend for class. I am so tired of driving, but grateful I have a wonderful vehicle to travel in and grateful for the beauty I get to enjoy as I drive. I have listened to quite a few audio books which is nice, and after this weekend my class is HALF OVER! Only three more times to make the trip and I am forever done with classes towards my masters degree. Hip Hip and Hooray! ( I actually have four more scheduled classed but I am hoping that I can write my final here with a proctor and save myself a December trip)

As I started into the mountains it was overcast. I had seen some snow in the tip tops of the tall mountains on the way into B.C. but I was hoping against hope that there would be no snow further down and on the roads for another few weeks of driving.

It was not meant to be. The higher I climbed the closer and closer the snow came until I was right in it. I even passed a snow plow! It was a beautiful site and even though I wanted to get home quickly and told myself I was NOT stopping to take pictures, I did pull over and take a few - but I didn't get out of the vehicle because I was still wearing my Birkenstocks and no socks!

(My spouse and my mother will verify that I DID pack socks and I even packed my boots and my winter coat... I am hoping to get one more trip before having to wear either of them though..... I wonder my my chances of that are?)



back in the car

My mom was with us for a few days and is gone already. I miss her so much!

I am already back in BC for school, it feels as though I never left.

This is how I started out my day! - I treat myself when I am travelling, because there is no Timmies in our town.

Now that I am back in Burns Lake the sky is looking ominous. I hope the snow stays away until I leave Sunday. But now I need to go and study for my stats midterm.

10.10.10

We celebrated Thanksgiving day today because we have to travel back home tomorrow. My sister in law also has to work tomorrow, so today worked well for us all to cook and eat a big meal.
The kids played, and played and played some more. I can't say enough about being close to family and how wonderful it is.
Shel shared her green bean and bacon dish which I think Des will adopt for their family and we also shared our thanksgiving tradition with rice kernels which we have now shared with Just and his family and Jar and his family. It is something I took from mom and dad and we have done it every year. It is fun to share traditions.
Each person takes rice kernels at the beginning of the meal and sets them next to their plate. Then as dinner goes along, for each rice kernel you have you share with everyone something you are thankful for and put one kernel of rice into a bowl in the middle of the table. The whole conversation around the Thanksgiving table is all about things you are thankful for. It makes the whole thanksgiving meal center around gratitude and I love it.
Another perfect day for which I am grateful!

fall day

We spent the afternoon at Prairie Gardens north of Edmonton today with the cousins and gramma. The boys had a fabulous time. Max loved the bunnies and CJ thought the goats existed for him alone. Shel said we need to get goats for him!
They weren't too interested in making their own scarecrow, but Max spent a fair amount of time climbing the jungle gym and going down the slide and CJ found a toy backhoe and played in the dirt.
We did go for a ride on the wagon pulled by the tractor and Shel's shoe fell off. Thankfully Justin was there to jump to the rescue and retrieve it for her. Des found a wagon to put all our bags into and Justin became the designated wagon puller, most times with CJ and Max in it as well as all our junk.
Des and Shel partnered up in the petting zoo and made sure the bunnies crates were moved out of the sun and given fresh water!
Right at the end of the day CJ got stung on his finger by a bee - poor baby - but the day was a great success and it was wonderful to spend the time with the cousins. We made some great memories. Tomorrow we are celebrating Thanksgiving with everyone. It has been a LONG time since we have been with family for Thanksgiving, and I am grateful!

thankful

We drove, we made it to the city and we are about to spend the weekend with my brother and his family and my mom.
A more perfect Thanksgiving I could not wish for this weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

99 things to do.... update October 2010

Maybe by the end of the year I will actually have 99 things listed, even if they arent all done.

1. Sort through the box in my bedroom closet that I have moved to two different households without sorting through.

2. Write monthly letters to my sons. ( I am thinking this should actually count as 24 "things to do" and not one. Depending on how much I get accomplished I may change this later!) INCOMPLETE 2010 - How did I fall of the wagon on this one when I was doing SOOO well?
3. Start my thesis.
4. Finish my thesis.
5. Participate in Chad Darnell's 12 of 12 every month.
6. Go to a movie, in a theater, with my spouse. (COMPLETE AUGUST 2010)
7. Clean out the bathroom cupboard. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010) - but I need to do this one again! What happened?!
8. Do at least ONE cross stitch project.
9. Get an updated criminal record check (COMPLETED APRIL 2010 - and AGAIN in OCTOBER 2010 - it expired before the adoptions were complete!)
10. Get a carbon monoxide detector for the house. (THIS IS COMPLETE! January 2010)
11. Fence the dugout.
12. Renew my first aid.
13. Find our marriage license. (didn't find it - so I ordered a new one! APRIL 2010)
14. Change our last names - to a blended last name. (COMPLETE MAY 2010)
15. Send my spouse to see her dad in the USA. (COMPLETE FEBRUARY 2010and SEPTEMBER 2010)
16. Get haircuts for the boys. ( I cut it myself in June!) Max got his cut again in August.
17. Take family photos.
18. Finish my stats class.
19. Work on my mom's 60th birthday present BEFORE her birthday! (Unfortunately this was not complete in time to send to mom on her birthday..... FAIL)
20. Get the carpet up off the staircase - remove the staples from the steps. (COMPLETE MARCH 2010!)
21. Get the hallway painted.
22. Lay new carpet on the staircase.
23. Make myself a bookmark.
24. Replace Shels' cell phone (COMPLETE. FEBRUARY 2010)
25. Cancel the contract on my cell phone. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
26. Put up Maxie's toddler bed. (COMPLETE. APRIL 2010)
27. Change the furnace filter. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
28. Hang hooks in the bathroom. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
29. Put together the smart shopper cards from IGA. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
30. Sort the tools. (STARTED May 2010)
31. Work on the boy's baby books.
32. Get an electrician quote on the house. (COMPETED MARCH 2010)
33. Hand in all the paperwork for foster care BEFORE March 31.(COMPLETE March 2010)
34. Take all the furniture from the old guest house to the dump.
35. Get tinkey winkey fixed (COMPLETE APRIL 2010) need to get new brakes, new windshield, and fix the lights before the end of the year.
36. Teach Max to ride a bike. (COMPLETE OCTOBER 2010) - he got on his bike and started riding!!
37. Box up all the clothes too small for the boys and donate them. (STARTED JUNE 2010) We have done this twice and need to do it again before school Starts in September.
38. Go camping with the family. (COMPLETE JULY 2010) We went for one night to the foster family camp and I am counting it! Next year we will have a tent trailer for SURE and we will do a lot more camping. I think the boys are finally old enough.
39. Take a family picture at Lake Louise.
40. Get a Christmas gift to my parents BEFORE Christmas!
41. Send out a family letter before December 31 2010.
42. Get a dutch oven.( Shel and Max found me a dutch oven in June! YAY!) Now there is a fire ban on in the Municipal District where we live so this might take a while to get completed.
43. Cook a dutch oven meal!(COMPLETE OCTOBER 2010) Cooked with my mom on her visit and it was YUMMY!
44. Stain the deck.
45. Get a haircut. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010) for me and Shel! and again in JULY
46. Submit receipts again up to the end of July 2010. (COMPLETE September2010)
47. Order Checks. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
48. Start Stats Class in Burns Lake (COMPLETE SEPTEMBER 2010)
49. Get an electrician to the house to start on rewiring (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
50. Pay my taxes. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
51. Put the new windshield wipers on the van. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
52. Get a brush for Zuva and brush her. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
53. Prune. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
54. Fix the lamp from Homa.
55. Finish painting the barn.
56. Rototill the garden spot. (Started May 2010)
57. Take the lawnmowers in for repair. (Bought a new one! JUNE 2010) now the new one needs to be repaired. We are hard on our lawnmowers..
58. Get Shel a new pair of glasses. (COMPLETE JUNE 2010) She got two new pairs!
59. Get the septic tank pumped. (COMPLETE JUNE 2010)
60. Start rewiring the house. (COMPLETE MAY 2010)
61. Get new wires installed for HDTV and PVR. (COMPLETE June 2010)
62. Get a new dishwasher. (COMPLETE June 2010)
63. Get the yard pinned.
64. Get the yard fenced.
65. Install new screens in windows.
66. Install new screen doors - front and back.
67. Install new doors. Front and back.
68. Plant a garden. (INCOMPLETE FOR 2010)
69. Plant some flowers. (complete JUNE 2010)
70. Put up the shelving unit on the back porch
71. Submit all paperwork for the LAST of foster care maintenance. (COMPLETE SEPTEMBER 2010)
72. Trade in the van. (COMPLETE AUGUST 2010)
73. Get a new vehicle.(COMPLETE AUGUST 2010)
74. Paint the back porch.
75. Frame some of the prints from mom and dad. (COMPLETE JULY 2010)
76. Make a 2011 photo calendar.
77. Get a tattoo.
78. Dig out my journal and start writing again.
79. Spend Thanksgiving with family.(COMPLETE OCTOBER 2010)
80. Go to Utah for Jill's wedding. (COMPLETE NOVEMBER 2010)
81. EAT MEXICAN FOOD IN UTAH! (COMPLETE NOVEMBER 2010)
82. Take a risk. (COMPLETE SEPTEMBER 2010)!
83. Get Hugo Fixed.
84. Get costumes for the boys for Halloween and take them out! (COMPLETE OCTOBER 2010)
85. Make curtains for the bathroom.
86. Make curtains for the back porch.
87. Make curtains for the upstairs hallway.
88. Get the sewing machine down and mend some clothing.
89. Buy a new fridge.
90.

Surgery again

This time last year we were just finished with Maxies surgery to put tubes in his ears and have his adenoids removed. A year has made an incredible difference in his hearing and in his speech. Then this summer he started to get ear infections it seemed on a weekly basis. We finally got a referral back to the specialist and Shel took him in today. First of all the appointment was ridiculous.
He was scheduled and on time for the scheduled appointment. Then Shel had to wait with him and Ceejer in the waiting room for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. I do understand that doctors get behind, but to have two small children in a waiting room for that long is outrageous - especially when they have an appointment time and they were there for it! Let's not add that it takes over an hour and a half drive time just to GET to the appointment in the first place.
Poor Shel. I feel ridiculously bad that she had to do it herself. It is difficult to do with two people, let alone one person.
I know that some people reading this might think two kids are easy to handle, but let me assure, you, two kids with FASD .... total other ballpark.
After waiting for an inordinate amount of time, the doc saw Maxie and made his prediction. Another surgery.
His adenoids have regrown (last time he had them out they were the size of plums) and he needs tubes back in his ears. They are booking for November, so we will wait and get a call from the hospital for the surgery.
I know he needs it, and it will surely help his breathing and his ear infections, but surgery again is a nightmare. He does not react well to the anesthesia and coming out of anesthesia is beyond words. Last year he was still "little" enough to hold, but he is a big boy - a four year old wearing sized six and seven clothing. 
And November - winter will have arrived, so it is a trip in the winter. In November I am still going to classes and November is my sister's wedding in Utah which I have booked a flight for already. Another pretty busy month.
My poor boy - apparently these adenoids can keep growing back and back and back. Nice!

Burns Lake Cemetery

On of my favorite blogs is The Bumbles Blog. On September 22nd the Bumbles posted about cemeteries and posted photos from their local cemetery. I love them and the post made me realize how many years it has been since I have visited one myself. I have been thinking about it ever since and so as I was driving to class and passing small cemeteries in the small communities I wanted to stop and check them all out. In Burns Lake I pass the town cemetery every time I leave the motel and go to the high school where my class is taught. After my brain numbing experience with stats today I knew I needed to spend some time outside and decided it was the perfect opportunity to go for a walk and take some photos. Here is what I came away with.

 There was a blend of headstones, from very old to very new. This one was wood and had no inscription anywhere.

 I really liked all the different styles of markers. I have been in cemeteries where the markers are all uniform and not so visually interesting to me. (Military markers excluded).

 I found this inscription particularly interesting - it says "first white settler". I wish I had more time to explore the history of this region and find out more about Jacob. There were quite a few markers with dates from the late 1800's - for the west coast that's impressive.

  I hope you enjoyed that little walk as much as I did!

I have a dream...

My trip to class today: McLeod Lake

The drive to school is a beautiful one. This is McLeod Lake. Unfortunately there are no great places to pull over and take pictures and this is one of the areas where there is construction. The fog on the lake this morning looked amazing. I hope you can get an idea of how cool it was.

My trip to class today: Bijoux Falls British Columbia

I left really early this morning to travel to class. I was tired and travelling in the dark too long and I was starting to struggle a bit. I stopped at every opportunity I had to pull into a rest area. It made the trip a little longer, but it kept me awake! Once the sun came out it was a lot easier to stay awake and I also managed to see some cool things. I stopped at Bijoux Falls Provincial park and took some pictures of the waterfall.

And here's the view as I was getting back onto the road...

I was also drinking a lot of water to help keep me awake. I don't know if the water actually did anything to keep me awake but I had to stop to go to the bathroom FIVE times before I was halfway through the trip - so that sure helped! Last week when I drove I ate sunflower seeds to help keep myself awake but I ate so many that the lining of my mouth was completely fried. I don't know which is better - burning the mouth lining or needing to urinate like a racehorse. Either way, the scenery is sure nice!

I will just add this last comment... Nothing turned me around faster than trucking through the bush to find a spot to relieve myself and coming upon this sign! That little adrenaline burst woke me up enough to put few good miles behind me quickly.

time for class again

It is already time for me to get ready to leave for class again. WOW that two weeks went by a little too quickly! I have some homework to finish up and print off and I made sure I went to the library and picked up some books on CD for the drive. It is funny how quickly perspective changes on distances when you are driving ten hours each way every two weeks. All of a sudden the six hours to my brothers place for Thanksgiving seems like a walk in the park!
I had to laugh at my books on CD choices this time. Our little library has a limited selection of audiobooks - about three racks. I stood in front of them and went back and forth and picked up one here and one there and then put them back and picked others. I finally chose three and checked them out. When I got home and moved them from the truck I looked at them more closely and saw I had checked out two from the same author! (Elizabeth Berg)
I just  heard on the radio that October was national Book month. YAY! I think I will celebrate somehow - as if I need an excuse to read while I am in school.

My, what big feet you have!

I think I just mentioned he turned four. FOUR.

Dang kid. Where'd he get such big feet?

( I got him a new coat today - he is now is size 6/7!)

Why is it that when you are the MOST tired you are least able to sleep?
I am so tired my eye has been twitching for two days straight. As soon as I get ready to roll over and go to sleep at night one of the boys wakes up. Last night CJ was a bear. I don't know what was the problem or if he is just being a wacky two year old. Well - HE IS being a wacky two year old, and though I enjoy toddlers I am ready for this "stage" of development to be over and to have my sweet baby back. A monster swallowed him - and he walks around making monster sounds to prove it!
The amount of things that have to be accomplished in the next two months are just mind boggling - literally I am having trouble keeping track of everything I need to get accomplished on a daily basis.
My mom is in California, coming here next week, but I have been trying to keep in touch with her as much as possible while she is on the same continent as we are.
My brothers 13 month old is in the hospital in Calgary because he swallowed some cleaner accidentally and burned his innards very badly. (Shel moved all our cleaning supplies from the LOCKED cabinet under the sink to the tallest cupboard she could find in the house - even though my nephew didn't get into the cleaning cabinet!)
I have school three weekends this month and one weekend we are going to Edmonton for Thanksgiving with my other brother and family and my mom. I am still hoping to squeeze in getting a tattoo while we are in Edmonton since that was the original plan for the trip to Edmonton in the first place, but now it has turned into a mini reunion, which I am happy for - but I still want my tattoo!
My sister is getting married in Utah in November, and while I am thrilled for her she didn't give us much time to plan - AT ALL.
Somehow in amongst all this I will have to work, do homework, and most importantly find time to hang with my boys. It seems that the hanging with my boys part is the part that is suffering the most. I need to do some kind of shuffling of my life so I am not missing out on them.
I don't want the blog to fall by the wayside, but it is a challenge to come up with a spare minute. As it is I am robbing this minute from something else I am supposed to be working on.

down, down, down, in a burning ring of fire.....

When we purchased our home and moved in a few years ago the land was surrounded by trees. There were trees to the north of our home, not on our property, but beautiful trees that shielded our home from view of the road and from North winds, and above all, were just downright pretty.
We asked the owner of the property, who was leasing the land to a farmer, that if he ever decided to sell to please let us know because we would like to purchase the land and keep the trees. He said he would do so and said as far as he was concerned the trees would never come down.
Well, he sold the property, didn't tell us, and the trees came down last summer. It was very distressing and we have a plan to plant trees, but it will never be the same.
The trees have been in piles right on the boundary of the properties for over a year. This weekend he decided to burn them.
I was away in B.C but Shel was home and said it was unreal. We are literally being smoked right out of our house. The smoke in insane and no-one can breathe, not even the pets.
She tried to call everyone she could think of to see if there was anything we could do and there isn't one thing. We have to wait it out. It's so ridiculous. I know it's his land and he can do what he wants, but there should be some kind of rule about impacting the health of others by what you do on your own property. Here are some pictures of what it looks like today - it's been burning a week now.

 From the north looking back towards our house. That's the barn you can see through the haze.

On our property looking north at the east pile - there are two piles burning.

From the road looking back at the smoke - it's smoke, not fog.

I have completely lost my marbles

I am sleep deprived and I have to head back to BC for class in 7 days. This time next week I will be well over half the way back to class. I have homework to do and reading to do to get ready for class and I have to work this weekend again. Have I mentioned I am tired?
I went yesterday on my lunch hour to the library to return the books on tape I took out last week for the trip. I have to check out some more for next week, but my trip yesterday was PURELY to return the CD's.

Of the 4 CD's I checked out I listened to two completely (one of them was ridiculously long) and I started the third but didn't like it so I stopped listening before the first cd was over. I didn't get a chance to listen to the fourth.

So after I checked the CD's back I just decided to "walk" through and "see" what books they had. I was not checking out any books. I keep telling myself I am NOT doing any "fun" reading until my class is finished.

I picked some books up and put them back. I picked some others up and thought I would check them out "just in case". Just in case what?

I checked out with NINE... count them NINE books. Ai ai ai ai ai. I have lost my mind completely. I am an addict. I told myself I would not read any until my homework was done.  Last night I picked up a book and started it while I was watching tv premieres.
Shoot me now.

First Day of Fall

I love the solstices.

Happy second or third day of FALL! (I'm a mite late with this post - sorry!)

driving home

I have never been in this part of the country. I didn't see anything other than the road, but it got dark fast.

Stopped for gas here.... I have to look up the name of the place.

Snow in the mountains. Fun to look at, not so fun to drive in!

Construction what?

I DID see a baby bear and tried to get a picture but I was too slow. I am sad I didn't get a photo cause my boys would have loved to have seen it.

All told since I left the house on Friday morning I drove 2617 km. When I was at the 2552 km mark I was behind a semi and got a WICKED rock chip in the windshield. I am so frustrated. It is pretty much inevitable living up here, but I was still mad about it.

things to check before you leave on a trip

If you have two vehicles, and two sets of car keys, and you are taking one vehicle and leaving one vehicle for your spouse while you are away... it would be a good idea to make sure you don't have both sets of keys to the vehicle you are leaving for your spouse.
It can complicate matters - and leave you relying, YET AGAIN, on good friends who seem to never tire of helping crazy people and bailing them out of the messes they get into.

1534 km later....

Class was over on Saturday afternoon. I thought I would leave immediately and drive to Kamloops but I was tired. I went back to the motel and crashed. I got up Sunday morning and headed out. It rained and rained and RAINED. It was wild!

Of course there was construction.

The clouds were low and much of the time it was as if I was driving in a rain cloud. When it started to clear it was quite beautiful. Shel would be proud of me - I pulled over to the side of the road to take a photo! I didn't go to the bathroom though, and that proved to be a bit of an issue a bit later!

The further south I drove the more the terrain started to look like Southern Idaho/Northern Utah. It made me laugh. Certainly there are differences, but it was weird how it reminded me of "home" - the home we left 8 years ago.

I arrived in Kamloops and checked into the motel. I am unaccustomed to the sounds of the city. I thought there was a lot of sirens until I realized I was right across from the hospital! Since I set out on my trip on Friday morning I have travelled 1534 km. I am tired. I am ready to see my family. I am excited for the next few days to explore the city. My emotions are running amok.

My Baby is FOUR

I am away from home today and it is my number one's birthday. He is FOUR!

I miss him so much and can't wait to get home.

I love you my main man.

(And it makes me laugh that you still have this exact expression!)

Things I learned in stats class

I have been totally worried about stats class. Don't get me wrong, I have no fear of stats itself, but I have not had positive interactions with this instructor and it has had me worried.
I can put all my fears to rest! He is a great instructor. I like how he is approaching the stats for this class - compared to how the last instructor was approaching it.
He has a very dry sense of humor and a few times had me chuckling. He seems to me to be a very stereotypical "absent minded professor" - without the absent minded part! It's obvious he is brilliant and he knows so much about so many things. I learned all about Harry Belafonte's Banana boat song.
It was originally a Jamaican folk song made popular by Harry in 1955. It's about slaves wanting to be finished with the day of work and asking for the tally man (the slave who was assigned a supervisory role) to count the bananas. Slaves were not permitted to learn to read or write, so they use tally marks - like the ones we used in class! He also gave us some history of music and how in the 1950's there was a separation between what was seen as appropriate for white people to listen to - in a racially segregated America. This song by Harry Belafonte became very popular with "white" listeners and was seen as a real break though in the music world. It was a way for the Caucasian kids to rebel - but an interesting topic of song to use to rebel against racism!

I also learned that I have a lot of fun plotting numbers into a double stem leaf....

The other thing I was a little worried about was fitting into the cohort. I was a part of a cohort for my classes here. I think on three occasions we had people from outside the cohort join us for classes and it really had an interesting impact on the class dynamic. I was worried about being disruptive and an "outsider" in the class, so I really made an effort to tone myself down and watch, not jump right in. I had a great experience with everyone in the class, and was even invited to the standing breakfast a number of classmates gather for each Saturday before class. It was great!

I got all the homework done on Friday night that I needed to and MOST of what I needed to get done on Saturday. I still have some stuff to do but it is WORLDS more clear than it was when I tried to do it over the phone. I think this is going to work out just fine! Now if only the weather will co-operate we are GOLD!